Monday, June 24, 2013

The Hyenas of Busyness - A Guest Post by @ Tal Prince

The
Hyenas of Busyness

ByTal Prince

So
- how’s your schedule these days? If you’re like most people, the answer ranges

somewhere
between busy and insane. With the Holidays coming up, there’s no sign of

relief
anywhere on the horizon. So what can we do but keep running?

In
today’s world everything shouts “RUN!” Our inbox alerts us to run. Our calendar alarms
us to runs. Our cell phones ring out the call to run. Our jobs demand that we
run. Our
families cry for us to run. So we run.

And
we run...

and
run...

and
we run.

Many
times, not even knowing where we are going. In my experience speed and

uncertainty
of direction are not good friends; when they get together, things rarely end

well. Yet, still we run. We are panicked, but running with our electronic leashes and

monitoring
devices dangling around our feet ringing, alerting, and alarming us in the

event
that we slow down.

Have
you ever watched hyenas hunt? They are among the cruelest of all predators. What
makes them cruel? Pound for pound, they have the most powerful jaws in the
animal kingdom, but that’s not it. It’s not their size - they are the size of a
German Shepherd.

However,
their hearts are twice the size as that of a lion. This gives them the
capability of running for long distances. If cheetahs are sprinters, the hyenas
are the marathon runners of jungle predators.

Combine
their hearts and jaws and they are capable killing machines, but what makes
them cruel is their ability to hunt in packs. Hyenas travel in clans, and when
they spot a herd of animals, they select their target. They then move in and
systematically separate their target from the herd. They dart in and out
causing their target to spin and turn in an effort to stay with the herd. The
target starts to run and then get disoriented as uncertainty of direction and speed
separates them from the protection of the herd. Then the hyenas begin to laugh.

It.

Is.

Cruel.

The
hyenas circle and chase their prey while they laugh. They are capable of running
great distances at 6 miles per hour, and they never let their prey rest. They
bite at its heels if it slows down. They continue to force their hapless target
to switch directions - adding to the desperate confusion and disorientation.
They are cut off. Alone. And running. If they slow down, the hyenas move in at
speeds of up to 30 miles per hour and nip at their heels.

The
hyenas relentlessly pursue their hapless prey until exhaustion takes over.
Their

target: separated, exhausted and alone, loses hope and gives up. The hyenas then

move
in and literally eat their prey alive.

I
have hyenas chasing me - do you?

They
keep me busy.

They
keep me running.

They
keep me disoriented.

When
I slow down, they laugh - their laughter sounds like my iPhone, email, calendar

and
task list. Their laughter reminds me that my perfectionism is at stake. “Look
out, Tal

-
you’re going to blow it! Something is going to slip through the cracks and it
will be all

your
fault! What are you going to do? RUN, Tal, RUN! Tal, you’re late for a call. Tal, you’re
late for a meeting. Tal, you’re late on a deadline. Tal, your emails are backed
up! Tal, you’re late picking up your kids from practice! Tal, what are you
thinking? RUN!”

Can
you identify with that? Are the hyenas of busyness on your trail? Have you been
cut

off
from the herd?

For
me, it’s times like these when God’s
Word makes the least sense. Look
at how Eugene Peterson translates
Psalm 46:10, “Step out of the
traffic! Take a long, loving look at

me,
your High God, above politics, above
everything.”1 How do we take a
verse like that when the hyenas of busyness
continues to harass us? Is
it as tough for you as it is for me at
times?

I
think, though, this is why the late Dallas Willard said, “You must ruthlessly
eliminate hurry from your life, for worry is the great enemy of spiritual life
in our world today.”

My
personal struggle with perfectionism
makes it hard for me to
choose to step out of the traffic. It seems so much easier to
pursue your opinion of
me. Though it never really works, I continue to run, instead of rest.

Then
I am too busy to pray and become separated from community and God, I become prey.

What
about you? How will you handle the hyenas of busyness today? We all know they
are coming - can you ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life? Can you take
the time to step out of the traffic to take a long and loving look at the most
high God?

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